Integral sensing apparatus for touch and pressure sensing and method for the same

ABSTRACT

An integral sensing apparatus for touch and pressure includes an upper substrate having a first electrode layer with a plurality of first sensing electrodes, a second electrode layer having at least one second sensing electrode, a dielectric layer arranged between the first and the second electrode layers, and a capacitance sensing circuit. In touch sensing operation, the capacitance sensing circuit sends a first capacitance-exciting signal to a selected first sensing electrode and obtains a touch sensing signal from the selected first sensing electrode, wherein an auxiliary signal with same phase as the first capacitance-exciting signal is sent to at least one corresponding second sensing electrode. In pressure sensing operation, the capacitance sensing circuit sends a second capacitance-exciting signal to the corresponding second sensing electrode and obtains a pressure sensing signal from the second sensing electrode, wherein a counter exciting signal is also sent to the selected first sensing electrode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sensor, especially to an integralsensing apparatus for touch and pressure sensing and method for thesame.

Description of Prior Art

The touch display panels become popular as the market growing of thecompact and lightweight mobile device. The pressure touch controltechnology has rapid development owing to the maturity of touch-controluser interface and serious demand for 3D touch operation. Theconventional pressure touch control panel generally integratesmicroelectromechanical sensor at edge or corner of the display panel tosense tactile pressure on the display panel. The cost of the sensor ishigh and the assembling of the sensor is difficult. It still needs lotsof effort to improve the pressure touch control panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object to provide an integral sensing apparatus and relatedmethod to overcome above-mentioned problems.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an integral sensingapparatus comprising: an upper substrate having a first face and asecond face opposite to the first face; a first electrode layer arrangedon the second face and having a plurality of first sensing electrodes; asecond electrode layer having at least one second sensing electrode; adielectric layer arranged between the first electrode layer and thesecond electrode layer; and a capacitance sensing circuit configured tosequentially or randomly send a first capacitance-exciting signal to aselected first sensing electrode and obtain a touch-sensing signal fromthe selected first sensing electrode, thus performing touch sensingoperation, the capacitance sensing circuit further configured to send anauxiliary signal having the same phase as that of the firstcapacitance-exciting signal to the at least one second sensing electrodecorresponding to the selected first sensing electrode; wherein thecapacitance sensing circuit is configured to send a secondcapacitance-exciting signal to the at least one second sensing electrodeand obtain a pressure sensing signal from the at least one secondsensing electrode, thus performing pressure sensing operation, thecapacitance sensing circuit is further configured to sequentially orrandomly send a counter-exciting signal to the selected first sensingelectrode in pressure sensing operation.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an integral method forsensing touch and pressure, comprising: providing an integral sensingapparatus comprising: an upper substrate having a first electrode layeron a face of the upper substrate and having a plurality of first sensingelectrodes; a second electrode layer having at least one second sensingelectrode, and a dielectric layer arranged between the first electrodelayer and the second electrode layer, the dielectric layer beingcompressively deformed under pressure and restoring to original shapeand volume if pressure is not present, and a capacitance sensingcircuit; performing a touch sensing operation, wherein a firstcapacitance-exciting signal is sequentially sent to a selected firstsensing electrode and a touch-sensing signal is obtained from theselected first sensing electrode thus performing touch sensingoperation; and performing a pressure sensing operation, wherein a secondcapacitance-exciting signal is sent to the at least one second sensingelectrode and obtain a pressure sensing signal from the at least onesecond sensing electrode, thus performing pressure sensing operation .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by wayof example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references indicate similar elements. Thesedrawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatus of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B respectively shows sectional view for illustratingoperation of a touch-pressure sensor.

FIGS. 3A and 3B respectively shows sectional view for illustratinganother operation of the touch-pressure sensor.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show schematic views of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show schematic views of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6A shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a partial top view of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A˜8C are schematic views of the integral sensing apparatusaccording to other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows the circuit diagram of the self-capacitance sensing circuitaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an integral sensing method according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 2A and 2B respectively shows sectional view for illustratingoperation of a touch-pressure sensor 12. The touch-pressure sensor 12comprises, from top to bottom, an upper substrate 120, a dielectriclayer 220, and a second electrode layer 320, where the upper substrate120 has a first face 120 a, a second face 120 b and a first electrodelayer 120C on the second face 120 b. Moreover, the first electrode layer120C comprises a plurality of first sensing electrodes E1˜E8. As shownin FIG. 2A, the first electrode layer 120C and the second electrodelayer 320 have uniform separation therebetween when no external force isexerted. At this time, the capacitor formed by each of the first sensingelectrodes E1˜E8 with respect to the underlying second electrode layer320 has the identical capacitance. With reference now to FIG. 2B, whenan external force is exerted on certain location of the touch-pressuresensor 12, for example the position corresponding to the first sensingelectrode E4, the dielectric layer 220 is deformed there and thecorresponding capacitance C2 is increased, thus facilitating the sensingof the pressure location.

FIGS. 3A and 3B respectively shows sectional view for illustratinganother operation of the touch-pressure sensor 12, where FIG. 3A iscorresponding to a lightly touching to a large area and FIG. 3B iscorresponding to a heavily touching to a small area with single finger.When the touch-pressure sensor 12 is used for touch sensing, acapacitance sensing circuit (not shown) is used to sense a capacitancechange between the touching point of user finger and the first sensingelectrodes E1˜E8, thus identifying the touching location of finger orpalm and fulfilling touch-control function. However, as shown in FIGS.3B, the capacitance may also have change for non-touching location ifthe touch-pressure sensor 12 is warped (deformed) such that theseparation between the first sensing electrodes E1˜E8 and the underlyingsecond electrode layer 320 is also changed. As can be seen in FIG. 3B,the first sensing electrodes E3 and E5 near the first sensing electrodeE4, which is corresponding to the actual touch location, havecapacitance change if the touch-pressure sensor 12 is substantiallywarped. The capacitance sensing circuit may not differentiate theoperations shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B because the first sensing electrodesE3 and E5 in FIG. 3A also have capacitance change due to a large areatouching by palm.

To overcome the problems mentioned above, the present invention providesan integral sensing apparatus for touch and pressure sensing. Theembodiments of the present invention will be described with reference tofollowing drawings.

FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatus fortouch and pressure sensing (hereinafter integral sensing apparatus) 10of the present invention. The integral sensing apparatus 10 comprises,from top to bottom, an upper substrate 100, a dielectric layer 200, anda second electrode layer 300, where the upper substrate 100 has a firstface 100 a, a second face 100 b and a first electrode layer 110 on thesecond face 100 b. Moreover, the first electrode layer 110 comprises aplurality of first sensing electrodes such as the first sensingelectrodes E1˜E9 shown in FIG. 1A. However, the embodiment shown in FIG.1A is used only for demonstration and the number and arrangement of thefirst sensing electrodes can be changed. The integral sensing apparatus10 further comprises a capacitance sensing circuit 50, and thecapacitance sensing circuit 50 comprises a capacitance-excitationdriving circuit 52 and a capacitance measuring circuit 54.

With reference again to FIG. 1A, the integral sensing apparatus 10 isoperated for touch control sensing. The capacitance-excitation drivingcircuit 52 comprises a signal source 520 and a driving unit 522 andsequentially or randomly applies a first capacitance-exciting (stimulussignal) Vs for touch-control sensing to a selected first sensingelectrode (for example, the first sensing electrode E4 is the selectedfirst sensing electrode in FIG. 1A). The capacitance-excitation drivingcircuit 52 further sends the first capacitance-exciting signal Vs to anon-inverting amplifier 56, where the gain of the non-invertingamplifier 56 is preferably one to generate an auxiliary signal Va havingthe same phase as that of the first capacitance-exciting signal Vs. Theauxiliary signal Va is applied to at least one corresponding secondsensing electrode 310. By applying a signal with the same phase as thefirst capacitance-exciting signal Vs on the corresponding second sensingelectrode 310, effectively there is minute (or even no) voltagedifference between the selected first sensing electrode E4 and thecorresponding second sensing electrode 310. Therefore, there is minute(or even no) capacitance between the selected first sensing electrode E4and the corresponding second sensing electrode 310. The influence tocapacitance measurement due to warp of the dielectric layer 200 can beprevented when sensing a touch operation for the selected first sensingelectrode E4. Moreover, the influence to capacitance measurement due toparallel capacitance from the corresponding second sensing electrode 310and the ground point can also be prevented.

FIG. 7 shows a partial top view of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to an embodiment of the present invention, which mainly showsthe arrangement of the first sensing electrodes E1˜E8, En and the secondsensing electrodes 310 a, 310 b. As shown in this figure, the secondelectrode layer 300 comprises two second sensing electrodes 310 a, 310 band each of the first sensing electrodes E1˜E8 is corresponding to atleast one of the second sensing electrodes 310 a, 310 b. The“correspondence” means each of the first sensing electrodes E1˜E8 is atleast overlapped with one corresponding second sensing electrode 310 aor 310 b from projected view, or near the one corresponding secondsensing electrode 310 a or 310 b from projected view, thus avoiding theinfluence due to warp of the dielectric layer 200. For example, thecorresponding second sensing electrode for the selected first sensingelectrode E4 is the second sensing electrode 310 a as shown in FIG. 7.One first sensing electrode may have plurality of corresponding secondsensing electrodes if the area of the first sensing electrode is largerthan the area of the second sensing electrode. The above mentionedexample is only for exemplary purpose and not for limitation of thepresent invention.

By the integral sensing apparatus 10 of the present invention shown inFIG. 1A, the measurement influence due to the warp or deformation of thedielectric layer 200 can be alleviated or prevented with the auxiliarysignal Va. After the capacitance-excitation driving circuit 52 of thecapacitance sensing circuit 50 sends the first capacitance-excitingsignal Vs for touch-control sensing to the selected first sensingelectrode E4, the capacitance measuring circuit 54 senses thetouch-sensing signal Vc1 at the sensing point P to precisely determinethe touch control location.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to another embodiment of the present invention, which is alsoused for touch control sensing. The integral sensing apparatus 10 issimilar to that shown in FIG. 1A except that the integral sensingapparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1B further comprises another non-invertingamplifier 57 able to generate a reflection signal Vr having the samephase as the first capacitance-exciting signal Vs. The reflection signalVr is applied to at least a part of the first sensing electrodes besidethe selected first sensing electrode E4. The integral sensing apparatus10 shown in FIG. 1B also employs the auxiliary signal Va to alleviate orprevent the measurement influence due to the warp or deformation of thedielectric layer 200. Moreover, the reflection signal Vr is applied toconcentrate the electric lines to the selected first sensing electrodeE4 to enhance measurement accuracy. After the capacitance-excitationdriving circuit 52 of the capacitance sensing circuit 50 sends the firstcapacitance-exciting signal Vs for touch-control sensing to the selectedfirst sensing electrode E4, the capacitance measuring circuit 54 sensesthe touch-sensing signal Vc1 at the sensing point P to preciselydetermine the touch control location.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show schematic views of the integral sensing apparatus10 according to the present invention, which are used for pressuresensing. The operations shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B can follow the touchcontrol sensing operation in FIG. 1A. After performing the touch controlsensing operation for the selected first sensing electrode E4, theintegral sensing apparatus 10 performs pressure sensing for the secondsensing electrode 310 a corresponding to the selected first sensingelectrode E4, or performs pressure sensing for all of the second sensingelectrodes. With reference again to FIG. 7, the second sensing electrodecorresponding to the selected first sensing electrode E4 is the secondsensing electrode 310 a, and therefore as shown in FIG. 4B, the integralsensing apparatus 10 sends a second capacitance-exciting signal Vp forpressure sensing to the second sensing electrode 310 a. The capacitancesensing circuit 50 further comprises a non-inverting amplifier 56, wherethe gain of the non-inverting amplifier 56 is preferably one to generatea shielding signal Vp1 having the same phase as that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal Vp. The shielding signal Vp1 is applied tothe non-chosen (non-selected) first sensing electrodes, namely, thefirst sensing electrodes E1˜E3, E5˜E8 and En. In other word, theshielding signal Vp1 is at applied to at least part of the first sensingelectrodes other than the selected first sensing electrode E4. Thecapacitance sensing circuit 50 of the integral sensing apparatus 10 hasa DC reference voltage source 53, which generates a counter-excitingsignal Vo and applies (sequentially or randomly) the counter-excitingsignal Vo to the selected first sensing electrodes E4.

FIG. 4A shows a partial top view of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to the present invention. This drawing mainly shows thearrangement of the first sensing electrodes E1˜E8, En and the secondsensing electrodes 310 a, 310 b as well as the application manner of thesecond capacitance-exciting signal Vp, the shielding signal Vp1 and thecounter-exciting signal Vo. With reference again to FIG. 4B, in pressuresensing operation, the shielding signal Vp1, which has the same phase asthat of the second capacitance-exciting signal Vp, is applied to thenon-selected first sensing electrodes (namely, the first sensingelectrodes other than the selected first sensing electrode E4) to shieldthe influence from user finger and enhance the measurement accuracy.Moreover, the counter-exciting signal Vo with a predetermined voltagelevel is applied to the selected first sensing electrode E4 to enhancethe pressure measurement accuracy for the second sensing electrode. Thecapacitance measuring circuit 54 senses the pressure-sensing signal Vc2(from the second sensing electrode, for example, the second sensingelectrode 310 a) at the sensing point P to precisely determine whether apressing action is present and the amount of pressure.

FIGS. 5A and 5B and 5C show the integral sensing apparatus 10 accordingto still another embodiment of the present invention. The embodimentshown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is similar to that shown in FIGS. 4A˜4B.However, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the input of thenon-inverting amplifier 56 (used for generating the shielding signalVp1) is not connected to the sensing point P of the capacitancemeasuring circuit 54. For example, the input of the non-invertingamplifier 56 may be directly connected to the signal source 520 toprevent from influencing by the pressure-sensing signal Vc2 at thesensing point P of the capacitance measuring circuit 54.

FIG. 6A shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Theembodiment shown in FIG. 6A is similar to that shown in FIG. 5B exceptthat the capacitance sensing circuit 50 has an inverting amplifier 59 toreplace the DC reference voltage source 53. In other word, the integralsensing apparatus 10 uses the inverting amplifier 59 to generate atime-varying signal with phase opposite to that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal Vp to function as the counter-excitingsignal Vo. Similarly, the pressure sensing accuracy for the secondsensing electrode can also be enhanced.

FIG. 6B shows a schematic view of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to still another embodiment of the present invention. Theembodiment shown in FIG. 6B is similar to that shown in FIG. 5B exceptthat the capacitance sensing circuit 50 has an inverting amplifier 59 toreplace the DC reference voltage source 53. In other word, the integralsensing apparatus 10 uses the inverting amplifier 59 to generate atime-varying signal with phase opposite to that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal Vp to function as the counter-excitingsignal Vo. Similarly, the pressure sensing accuracy for the secondsensing electrode can also be enhanced. Besides, the input of thenon-inverting amplifier 56 (used for generating the shielding signalVp1) is not connected to the sensing point P of the capacitancemeasuring circuit 54. For example, the input of the non-invertingamplifier 56 may be directly connected to the signal source 520 toprevent from influencing by the pressure-sensing signal Vc2 at thesensing point P of the capacitance measuring circuit 54.

FIGS. 8A˜8C are schematic views of the integral sensing apparatus 10according to other embodiments of the present invention. With referenceto FIG. 8A, the integral sensing apparatus 10 further comprises apolarizer layer 410 and a lower substrate 400. The polarizer layer 410is placed between the dielectric layer 200 and the second electrodelayer 300. The lower substrate 400 is placed on a side of the secondelectrode layer 300, which is opposite to the dielectric layer 200. Withreference to FIG. 8B, in this embodiment, the integral sensing apparatus10 further comprises a lower substrate 400 and the second electrodelayer is a second electrode layer 300′ with polarizer function.Similarly, the lower substrate 400 is placed on a side of the secondelectrode layer 300′, which is opposite to the dielectric layer 200. Theintegral sensing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 8C is similar to that shownin FIG. 8A except that the polarizer layer 410 is placed between thesecond electrode layer 300 and the lower substrate 400. In theembodiments shown in FIG. 8A˜8C, the lower substrate 400 may be a glasssubstrate, a polymer substrate, or a color filter of a display panel;the upper substrate 100 may be a glass substrate, a polymer substrate,or just a hard coating layer.

In above mentioned embodiments, the dielectric layer 200 comprises anelastic gel material, where the elastic gel material is compressivelydeformed under pressure and restores to the original shape and volume ifthe pressure is not present. The elastic gel material is for example,but not limited to, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The firstcapacitance-exciting signal (the stimulus signal) Vs and the secondcapacitance-exciting signal Vp may be a time-varying signal such as asinusoidal wave signal, a square wave signal, a triangular wave signalor a trapezoidal wave signal. The first capacitance-exciting signal Vsand the second capacitance-exciting signal Vp may also be a currentsource. The counter-exciting signal Vo may be a DC reference signal or atime-varying signal with phase opposite to that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal Vp.

FIG. 9 shows the circuit diagram of the self-capacitance sensing circuit50′ according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theself-capacitance sensing circuit 50′ mainly comprises acapacitance-excitation driving circuit 52 and a capacitance measuringcircuit 54 to sense a capacitance change at the sensing point P. Thecapacitance-excitation driving circuit 52 comprises a signal source 520and a driving unit 522 (including a second impedance 522 a and a thirdimpedance 522 b). The capacitance measuring circuit 54 comprises adifferential amplifier 540, a first impedance 542 and a first capacitor544 and is used to sense a capacitance change at a sensing electrode 60,where the sensing electrode 60 comprises a first stray capacitance 62and a second stray capacitance 64.

The signal source 520 is electrically coupled with the first impedance542 and the second impedance 522 a. The first impedance 542 iselectrically coupled with the first capacitor 544 and the firstcapacitor 544 is electrically coupled with the first input end 540 a ofthe differential amplifier 540. The second impedance 522 a iselectrically coupled with the second input end 540 b of the differentialamplifier 540. The sensing electrode 60 is electrically coupled to thesecond impedance 522 a and the second input end 540 b through a node(such as an IC pin) of the self-capacitance sensing circuit 50′. Thefirst stray capacitance 62 is electrically coupled to the node and thesecond stray capacitance 64 is electrically coupled to the sensingelectrode 60.

In the self-capacitance sensing circuit 50′ shown in FIG. 9, the sensingelectrode 60 receives a touch signal when a finger or a conductor istouched thereon. The signal source 520 is a periodical signal and sentto the third impedance 522, while the resistance values of the firstimpedance 542 and the second impedance 522 a are identical. Thedifferential amplifier 540 will generate a differential touch signalafter receiving the signal source 520 and the touch signal from thesensing electrode 60. In this embodiment, the capacitance of the firstcapacitor 544 is equal to the resulting capacitance of the first straycapacitance 62 in parallel connection with the second stray capacitance64. The capacitance of the second stray capacitance 64 changes when userfinger approaches or touches the sensing electrode 60. Therefore, thevoltages fed to the first input end 540 a and the second input end 540 bwill be different such that the differential amplifier 540 has a(non-zero) differential output at the output end 540 c. In this way, theminute capacitance change on the sensing electrode 60 can be detected bythe differential amplifier 540. Moreover, the noise from circuits orpower source can be advantageously removed. The detail of theself-capacitance sensing circuit 50′ can be referred to U.S. Pat. No.8,704,539 (corresponding to Taiwan patent No. I473001) filed by the sameapplicant.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an integral capacitive touch and pressuresensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Instep S10, the method provides an integral sensing apparatus, whichcomprises an upper substrate having a first face arranged with a firstelectrode layer having a plurality of first sensing electrodes; a secondelectrode layer having at least one second sensing electrode; adielectric layer arranged between the first and the second electrodelayers, the dielectric layer being compressively deformed under pressureand restoring to original shape and volume if the pressure is notpresent; and a capacitance sensing circuit (for example, theself-capacitance sensing circuit 50′ shown in FIG. 9). The step S20performs a touch control sensing step, the integral sensing apparatussends a first capacitance-exciting signal to the selected first sensingelectrode and obtains (reads) a touch-sensing signal from the selectedfirst sensing electrode for touch control sensing. The step S30 performsa pressure sensing step, the integral sensing apparatus sends a secondcapacitance-exciting signal to at least one second sensing electrode(for example, the second sensing electrode corresponding to the selectedfirst sensing electrode) and obtains (reads) a pressure-sensing signalfrom the second sensing electrode for pressure sensing.

In step S20, the integral sensing apparatus may optionally detectwhether a touch event is sensed and performs the Step 30 if the touchevent is sensed. In above step S20, an auxiliary signal having the samephase as that of the first capacitance-exciting signal may be optionallyapplied to the at least one second sensing electrode. Moreover, in thestep S20, a reflection signal having the same phase as the firstcapacitance-exciting signal may be optionally applied to the firstsensing electrodes near the selected first sensing electrode. In thestep S30, a counter-exciting signal may be optionally sent to theselected first sensing electrode. The counter-exciting signal is a DCreference voltage (such as a ground signal of zero volt) or atime-varying signal with phase opposite to that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal. Moreover, in step S30, a signal (shieldingsignal) with phase same with the second capacitance-exciting signal maybe optionally applied to at least one of non-selected first sensingelectrodes.

In above-motioned sensing operation, the first or the secondcapacitance-exciting signal may be a time-varying signal such as asinusoidal wave signal, a square wave signal, a triangular wave signalor a trapezoidal wave signal. The first or the secondcapacitance-exciting signal may also be a current source.

Thus, particular embodiments have been described. Other embodiments arewithin the scope of the following claims. For example, the actionsrecited in the claims may be performed in a different order and stillachieve desirable results.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integral sensing apparatus comprising: anupper substrate having a first face and a second face opposite to thefirst face; a first electrode layer arranged on the second face andhaving a plurality of first sensing electrodes; a second electrode layerhaving at least one second sensing electrode; a dielectric layerarranged between the first electrode layer and the second electrodelayer; and a capacitance sensing circuit configured to sequentially orrandomly send a first capacitance-exciting signal to a selected firstsensing electrode and obtain a touch-sensing signal from the selectedfirst sensing electrode, thus performing touch sensing operation, thecapacitance sensing circuit further configured to send an auxiliarysignal having the same phase as that of the first capacitance-excitingsignal to the at least one second sensing electrode corresponding to theselected first sensing electrode; wherein the capacitance sensingcircuit is configured to send a second capacitance-exciting signal tothe at least one second sensing electrode and obtain a pressure sensingsignal from the at least one second sensing electrode, thus performingpressure sensing operation, the capacitance sensing circuit is furtherconfigured to sequentially or randomly send a counter-exciting signal tothe selected first sensing electrode in pressure sensing operation. 2.The integral sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the capacitancesensing circuit is a self-capacitance sensing circuit.
 3. The integralsensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer comprises anelastic gel material, where the elastic gel material is compressivelydeformed under pressure and restores to original shape and volume ifpressure is not present.
 4. The integral sensing apparatus in claim 1,wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is further configure to send areflection signal having the same phase as the firstcapacitance-exciting signal to the first sensing electrodes near theselected first sensing electrode in touch sensing operation.
 5. Theintegral sensing apparatus in claim 1, wherein the capacitance sensingcircuit is further configure to send a shielding signal having the samephase as the second capacitance-exciting signal to the non-selectedfirst sensing electrodes.
 6. The integral sensing apparatus in claim 1,wherein the first or the second capacitance-exciting signal is atime-varying signal or a current source.
 7. The integral sensingapparatus in claim 6, wherein the counter-exciting signal is a DCreference voltage or a time-varying signal with phase opposite to thatof the second capacitance-exciting signal.
 8. The integral sensingapparatus in claim 7, wherein the DC reference voltage is a groundvoltage of zero volt.
 9. The integral sensing apparatus in claim 1,wherein the upper substrate is a glass substrate, a polymer substrate,or a hard coating layer.
 10. The integral sensing apparatus in claim 1,further comprising a lower substrate arranged toward a side of thesecond electrode layer opposite to the dielectric layer, the lowersubstrate is a glass substrate or a polymer substrate.
 11. The integralsensing apparatus in claim 10, wherein the lower substrate is a colorfilter of a display panel.
 12. An integral method for sensing touch andpressure, comprising: providing an integral sensing apparatuscomprising: an upper substrate having a first electrode layer on a faceof the upper substrate and having a plurality of first sensingelectrodes; a second electrode layer having at least one second sensingelectrode, and a dielectric layer arranged between the first electrodelayer and the second electrode layer, the dielectric layer beingcompressively deformed under pressure and restoring to original shapeand volume if pressure is not present, and a capacitance sensingcircuit; performing a touch sensing operation, wherein a firstcapacitance-exciting signal is sequentially sent to a selected firstsensing electrode and a touch-sensing signal is obtained from theselected first sensing electrode; performing a pressure sensingoperation, wherein a second capacitance-exciting signal is sent to theat least one second sensing electrode and obtaining a pressure sensingsignal from the at least one second sensing electrode; and determiningwhether a touch event is confirmed after the touch sensing operation isfinished and performing the pressure sensing operation if the touchevent is confirmed.
 13. The method in claim 12, wherein the first or thesecond capacitance-exciting signal is a time-varying signal.
 14. Themethod in claim 13, further comprising: sending an auxiliary signalhaving the same phase as that of the first capacitance-exciting signalto the at least one second sensing electrode in touch sensing operation.15. The method in claim 14, further comprising: sending a reflectionsignal having the same phase as the first capacitance-exciting signal tothe first sensing electrodes near the selected first sensing electrodein touch sensing operation.
 16. The method in claim 13, furthercomprising: sending a counter-exciting signal to the selected firstsensing electrode in pressure sensing operation.
 17. The method in claim16, wherein the counter-exciting signal is a DC reference voltage or atime-varying signal with phase opposite to that of the secondcapacitance-exciting signal.
 18. The method in claim 17, wherein the DCreference voltage is a ground voltage of zero volt.
 19. The method inclaim 16, further comprising: sending a signal having the same phase asthe second capacitance-exciting signal to the non-selected first sensingelectrodes in pressure sensing operation.
 20. The method in claim 12,wherein the capacitance sensing circuit is a self-capacitance sensingcircuit.